Open Paleo

Oviraptorosauria

Barsbold, 1976 Type genus Oviraptor

Its genera lived 125.8–66.0 million years ago Early Cretaceous–Late Cretaceous
Early Cretaceous and Late Cretaceous stages

Oviraptorosauria is a clade of feathered, bipedal maniraptoran theropods from the Cretaceous of what are now Asia and North America, and among the dinosaur groups closest to the ancestry of birds. Its members are distinguished by short, deep, parrot-like skulls, often bearing bony crests, with jaws that carry few or no teeth. The most primitive forms, such as Caudipteryx and Incisivosaurus, retain a few front teeth, in the latter enlarged into prominent bucktoothed incisors, while more derived members are toothless. The group spans a wide size range, from turkey-sized early-diverging species to the eight-meter Gigantoraptor, and its more advanced members are typically divided between the toothless caenagnathids and the crested oviraptorids. Several species are preserved with pennaceous feathers on the wings and tail, and oviraptorids are famously known from specimens frozen in a brooding posture over circular clutches of eggs. Their diet appears to have been generalized, ranging from herbivory to omnivory, with some evidence of small vertebrates and gastroliths.

Diagnosis

  1. Short, deep skull with a reduced dentition trending toward edentulism
  2. Downturned, robust dentary with an extensive symphysis
  3. Pneumatic, tall-spined cervical vertebrae with a long, mobile neck
  4. Shortened tail, in derived members terminating in coossified distal caudals
  5. Large, three-fingered grasping hand (reduced in derived oviraptorids)

Clades within Oviraptorosauria

Genera placed directly in Oviraptorosauria

  • Avimimus Kurzanov, 1981 Campanian–Maastrichtian (83.6–66.0 Ma)Mongolia
  • Incisivosaurus Xu et al., 2002 Barremian (125.8–121.4 Ma)China
  • Protarchaeopteryx Ji & Ji, 1997 Barremian (125.8–121.4 Ma)Chinaunder dispute
  • Yuanyanglong Hao et al., 2024 Aptian–Albian (121.4–100.5 Ma)China

References

  1. Barsbold, R. (1976). On the evolution and systematics of the late Mesozoic dinosaurs. Transactions of the Joint Soviet-Mongolian Paleontological Expedition 3: 68-75.

    Diagnosed the infraorder Oviraptorosauria, with Oviraptoridae as its only family, crediting the name to Barsbold (1974).

    barsbold1976b
  2. Barsbold, R. (1974). Poyedinok dinozavrov [Dueling dinosaurs]. Priroda 2: 81-83.

    The 1974 Barsbold paper credited with the name Oviraptorosauria in Barsbold (1976).

    barsbold1974a
  3. Maryańska, T.; Osmólska, H.; Wolsan, M. (2002). Avialan status for Oviraptorosauria. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 47(1): 97-116.

    Defined Oviraptorosauria as the most inclusive clade containing Oviraptor philoceratops but not Passer domesticus, and diagnosed it by five unambiguous synapomorphies.

    maryańska2002a
  4. Funston, G. F.; Mendonca, S. E.; Currie, P. J.; Barsbold, R. (2018). Oviraptorosaur anatomy, diversity and ecology in the Nemegt Basin. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 494: 101-120. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2017.10.023

    Reviewed the anatomy, diversity and ecology of the oviraptorosaurs of the Nemegt Basin.

    funston2018a